Light of My Life, O Lord, Thou Art in Tonic Solfa
Light of My Life, O Lord, Thou Art in Tonic Solfa to MERIBAH, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 5 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dLight--- | mof--mmymlife,-rO-mLord,-fThou- | sart,-------mNo--- |
| lfear--laf-lflicts-smy-ftrust--ming- | rheart-------sWhen,--- |
| tall-lse--scure---fein--- | sThee-------sAs--- |
| d'in-sa-sfor--mtress-fI-lre-- | spose,-------sAnd--- |
| d'e--svil-smen,-mmy-fdi--lrest- | sfoes,-------dAre--- |
| rbaulked-fthat-mtrou----rble--- | dme,------- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 3/2
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- MERIBAH
- Words
- Traditional Greek, John Brownlie
- Music
- Lowell Mason
Tune MERIBAH by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925). Sources and licences.
The solfa line by line
The same solfa as plain text, a line of the hymn at a time, with the words of the first verse under it — easy to copy into your own notes or a message to the choir. To print it, download the solfa as a PDF.
Doh is Eb · 3/2
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Light of my life, O Lord, Thou art,
No fear afflicts my trusting heart
When, all secure in Thee
As in a fortress I repose,
And evil men, my direst foes,
Are baulked that trouble me,
Hosts may encamp on every side,
And pallid fear the trust deride
That saves me from affright;
But in the Lord my hope shall last,
Till noise of war and strife are past,
And flee the powers of night.
To God I make this chief request,
That I in His abode may rest
Through all my earthly days,
To mark its comeliness and grace,
And see the beauty of His face,
Whose love inspires my praise.
There shall I dwell unseen by all,
Secure when days of trouble call,
And evil doers mock;
And He shall hide me in His tent,
Till all the wrath of man is spent
As tempests on a rock.
Therefore to Thee my praise I'll give,
And joyful offerings while I live
My grateful soul shall bring;
For Thou my foes hast beaten down,
With victory Thou my head dost crown,
And tun'st my heart to sing.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb and sing d r m f s up from it, so the whole choir has the key in their ears before you start.
- Pitch the first note. The tune starts on d (E♭), on the word “Light”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 3/2 means three minim beats in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s l t and the chromatic fe. A comma after a note (s,) is the octave below; an apostrophe (d') is the octave above.
New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.
About the hymn
John Brownlie translated these words from the Greek service books for Hymns from the Morningland (Paisley, 1911), headed “Psalm XXVII”.
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Common Particular Metre (8.8.6.8.8.6), and this page sets them to MERIBAH; any other Common Particular Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: Traditional Greek
- Translated (1911): John Brownlie (1857–1925)
- Music (1839): Lowell Mason (1792–1872)
Tune MERIBAH by Lowell Mason (1792–1872); words by Traditional Greek; translated by John Brownlie (1857–1925).
Sung to the same tune: At Early Dawn, with Pious Thought, Be It My Only Wisdom Here, Blinded in Youth by Satan's Arts, But We from Such Assaults Are Freed, Except the Lord Conduct the Plan, How Happy, Gracious Lord! Are We, If Solid Happiness We Prize, Lord, Thou Hast Won, at Length I Yield, May We Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulfil, O God of Life, in Whom We Live, O Lord! How Happy Should We Be, O Love Divine, How Sweet Thou Art, O, Could We Speak the Matchless Worth, The Joyful Morn, My God, Is Come, Thou God of Glorious Majesty, When, Lord, to This Our Western Land.
Questions about Light of My Life, O Lord, Thou Art
What is the doh of Light of My Life, O Lord, Thou Art?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. If your choir sings it in another key, doh moves to the new key note and every solfa syllable stays the same — that is what movable doh means.
What note does Light of My Life, O Lord, Thou Art start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major), a pickup on the word “Light” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Light of My Life, O Lord, Thou Art in the public domain?
Yes. John Brownlie died in 1925, Lowell Mason died in 1872; the words were in print by 1911 and the music in 1839. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in the UK, the EU, the United States and Nigeria. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.